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IJN Yūdachi
Yūdachi (Japanese: 夕立, lit. Evening Squall/Evening Shower) was the fourth of the ten Shiratsuyu class destroyers. Description Yūdachi was built in Sasebo Naval Arsenal, she was launched on June 11, 1936 and was commissioned on January 7, 1937. She is equipped with 2 shaft Kampon geared turbines and 3 boilers capable of generating 42,000 horsepower. Her speed is 34 knots and armed with two twin and one single 5 inch 50 cal. Type 3 naval guns, two 13-mm Type 93 anti-aircraft gun, and two quadruple 24 inch torpedo tubes, she also carries 16 depth charges.http://www.perthone.com/pijn.html History She was assigned under the DesDiv 2 which is part of the DesRon 4 of the IJN 2nd Fleet, together with her sisters, Murasame, Harusame, and Samidare. The DesDiv 2 departed to Mako Guard District (Makung, Pescadores Islands) from Terashima Strait, and from Mako they proceed to Vigan to support the invasion of the Philippine Islands. She provided cover for Lingayen, Tarakan, and Balikpapan invasion forces. She participated in the Battle of Java Sea together with the DesDiv 2. They engaged 2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers and 9 destroyers from the Allies, they managed to sink 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser, and 3 destroyers with 1 destroyer from the IJN was heavily damaged. The DesDiv 2 proceed to Subic Bay and conduct naval blockade from Manila and assisted for the occupation of Cebu. She proceed to Yokosuka from Mako for repairs afterwards. During the Battle of Midway, she escorted Admiral Kondo's Occupation Force Main Body. From Kure she was assigned to Singapore to conduct further raids within the Indian Ocean, this was cancel due to the Allied invasion of Guadalcanal. On August 30, 1942, she arrived Shortlands from Truk to support troop transports in Guadalcanal. She escorted a barge-carrying convoy from Shortland to Gizo along with Murakumo. She was assign to escort the Tokyo Express with Hatsuyuki and Murakumo, the convoy landed 1,000 troops on Taivu, then she sunk USN high-speed transport ex-destroyers, USS Gregory APD-3 and USS Little APD-4. On the next day, she was assigned to attack a USN convoy off Guadalcanal, unable to locate the convoy, she shelled Henderson Field along with Uranami, Shikinami and Ariake. She supported further landings in Guadalcanal, she was assigned to provide gunfire support for the Battle of Edson's Ridge along with Uranami and Murakumo. She was assigned to look for enemy convoys going to Guadalcanal then she resumed escorting the Tokyo Express. She was present during the Battle for Henderson Field and assisted the bombed light cruiser Yura, she rescued Yura's crew along with Harusame and scuttled the light cruiser afterwards. She escorted three more convoys from the Tokyo Express until she assigned to Admiral Abe's force to bombard Henderson Field. During the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Yuudachi together with Amatsukaze charged a USN ship formation composed of 5 destroyers. Amatsukaze sunk USS Barton DD-599 and damaged USS Juneau CL-52 with torpedoes, Yuudachi fires eight torpedoes at the formation, during the chaos she encountered two USN destroyers, USS Sterett DD-407 and USS Aaron Ward DD-483, she's quite unaware about two destroyers, the two destroyers disabled her with gunfire, her captain commanded to 'raise the sail' using a white bed sheet, the USN believed that her 'sail' was a 'white flag' and ignores her, but Yuudachi opened fires at passing Allied ships (one of them was USS Portland CA-33), Samidare immediately rescued Yuudachi's crew but failed to scuttle her, the already damaged Portland was enraged, returned fire and smothered the abandoned destroyer with profanities until Yuudachi sunk. Samidare managed to rescue 207 survivors including Commander Kikkawa, 26 killed of her crew were killed. Yuudachi sunk on November 13, 1942, she rests within the Ironbottom Sound.http://www.combinedfleet.com/yudach_t.htm References Category:Ships Category:Naval Ships Category:Japanese Ships Category:Japanese Navy Category:World War II Ships Category:Destroyers